Basic question re 12v battery power

[GaryH]

Hi,

We're new to caravanning, got a 3 year old Sterling and take it on our first trip this weekend.

I went up to it last night to try a few things out but couldn't get the 12v power to work.

The switches and guage over the door show nothing and I tried the 3 way switch in the wardrobe but to no avail.

It's a new battery and I don't think we left anything on while its been in storage for the last 6 weeks.

I've read through the manual which is very useful but unfortunately it assumes the reader has a basic understanding of how to start - which I don't have yet!

Any ideas anyone?

I think I'm either missing something simple or the battery is dead.

Cheers in advance,

Gary H.

 

[Rod_5041370]

If you have a built in car radio or alarm system both will draw current even when turned off.

Also check the switch is off for the blown air heating, this is a very common cause of battery drain as the fan can be very quiet and not noticable when leaving the van.

 

[GaryH]

Hi Rod,

Thanks for the reply.

There is no radio (that's on my list to do later in the year) but I'll check the blown air and anything else I can think of that may be on.

It could have been a light I suppose.

I'm assuming that when I tow it on Friday the battery will recharge a little and when it's hooked up on site it will recharge also.

Am I right in thinking that the electric hook up will power the 12v via the battery too?

We could survive without 12v I think, there's only the water pump I can think of that is really useful, and we can get by with a water container with tap that I've got - 25 litres. We're only away for 3 nights to 'bond' with our new van ;-)

Cheers,

Gary

 

[GaryH]

One other thing, when it's in storage, should I set the 3 way switch to 'off' to prevent this from happening again? Does that disable all appliances that run off the 12v?

 

[Ian341]

Hi Gary,

When we leave our van in storage we leave the 3 way switch on "CAR".

We went away 4 weeks ago and the battery was fully charged after the trip, however, a week later it was completely flat, the needle didn't even move.

If you connect the car up for about 5 mins on "car" then switch to "van" what is the reading then ??

We have had our battery for 5 years now so I think it needs relpacing but as you said yours is new i dont see why it is running low so quickly, as previous people have mentioned check that you didnt leave anything on, especially status booster, however if you switch to "off" or "car" this should isolate the interior 12v.

Hope this helps

Ian

 

[GaryH]

Hi Gary,

When we leave our van in storage we leave the 3 way switch on "CAR".

We went away 4 weeks ago and the battery was fully charged after the trip, however, a week later it was completely flat, the needle didn't even move.

If you connect the car up for about 5 mins on "car" then switch to "van" what is the reading then ??

We have had our battery for 5 years now so I think it needs relpacing but as you said yours is new i dont see why it is running low so quickly, as previous people have mentioned check that you didnt leave anything on, especially status booster, however if you switch to "off" or "car" this should isolate the interior 12v.

Hope this helps

Ian

Thanks for replying Ian.

I didn't get chance to test your theory out unfortunately. I hitched it up to the car on Friday to take it out on iur first voyage and when I touch the brakes it is shorting out the in-line fuse in the car. We ended up abandoning the trip sadly :-(

as our two little ones were getting fractious.

I've replaced the 15A fuse and tested it on our trailer, everyhting seems ok so I'm off tot he caravan later today to check the wiring on the cable. I'll also check out the bulbs/housing for the van's rear lights too. If I can't spot anyhting then I'll be posting another question on here!

Caravans...who'd have 'em hey?

Gary